2 Catholic schools, closed for decades, reopen in Syria
September 23, 2026
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CWN Editor's Note: Two Franciscan schools in Syria’s Idlib Governorate (map) reopened on September 20, decades after they were closed.
The Franciscan friars of the Custody of the Holy Land opened one the schools in 1958, only to see it expropriated in 1972, shortly after Hafez al-Assad became president. With the end of the Syrian Civil War, many teachers have returned to Syria, said Father Khukaz Mesrob, O.F.M.
“We always hoped for the best, that the children would eventually return” to the schools, said Father Mesrob. “Today we have 25 active teachers covering everything from English and mathematics to chemistry and biology, and they are all children of the villages and Christians.”
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